Life Lessons
by symphonyofsilence
Summary: Trisha finds Ed and Al playing in the backyard. She also finds that her son has a lot to learn about romance


I have no explanation for this. I also make no apologies.

Trisha, Ed, Al and Winry.

FMA is so not mine.

* * *

><p>"You transmuted my trash cans, didn't you?" Trisha asked. Outwardly, she was the picture of the slightly annoyed mother, her arms crossed and her foot tapping on the grassy backyard lawn. Inwardly, however…<p>

"But mo-ther, we needed them!" Ed whined. He lifted his arm in order to tip the side of his tin helmet - once the lid of her trash can - so he could look at her properly. He did not however, let go of the wooden sword in his hand and it clanked loudly against the helmet, making his eyes go cross-eyed. Around his torso the rest of the can was wrapped comfortably around him, and he had leg and arm braces to match.

Her second can was worn by her other son in much the same fashion, only the 'chest armor' if it could be termed as so, was a little too big and hung loosely from neck to almost his knees. She had seen enough transmutations from Hoenheim to know it was a simple transmutation, changing only the form of the item and not the composition of it. Still, at such a young age the boys had promise.

"Without them we can't play swords." Al lifted his wooden sword to the sky in a very heroic pose for a six year old. Trisha's mouth twitched upwards and she bit the inside of her cheek to hide her smile. They had transmuted her garbage cans she reminded herself firmly. If she didn't get them back the two large bags of garbage on the front lawn would be strewn across the entire yard from raccoons and Den.

The sight before her made her dearly wish for a camera, though. It was a pity she had lent it to Pinako.

"Swords are dumb." Winry grumbled. She was at the far edge of the yard, her back turned to the boys and brushing out a very relaxed Den. At least the dog was otherwise engaged and not getting into the trash at the front of the house.

Ed turned towards the young girl. "They are not!" He snapped. "And besides, you're supposed to be over here so I can rescue you, remember?" He pointed a pudgy finger at the tree stump usually used for chopping firewood. Trisha's eyebrows shot upwards.

"Yeah, how can I be the bad guy if there's no princess to fight over?" Al added.

Winry scowled. "All the princess does is sit there!" She snapped before turning back to Den.

"That's what girls are supposed to do," Ed argued. "I read it in one of those books: The good guy comes in, kills the bad guy, and takes the princess away, then-"

"They get married and live happily ever after." Winry nodded, clearly liking the idea. Trisha had to admit it was very sweet. Trying to keep the smile from her face was becoming harder and harder as time wore on.

Ed made a face. "Why do you have to turn everything mushy and romantic?"

Winry stood up to glare at the boys, dog brush still in hand. "Well I'm not marrying you anymore."

"I never asked you to marry me!"

"I will," Al smiled at Winry, his tin hat wobbling as he nodded enthusiastically.

"But you're the _bad guy_," Ed said with exaggerated patience. The tilt of his head and the look in his eyes reminded Trisha so much of Hoenheim it made her breath catch. He would be the spitting image of his father when he became older. "Bad guys don't get the princess. They get defeated by the good guy."

Winry huffed and crossed her arms. "Well I'd rather get rescued by Al then you."

"You were totally ok with this until Den showed up." Ed nudged his tin clad hand at the dog. "I think being a princess is going to your head." Ed added quietly.

"Now, Edward," Trisha warned. She loved her son dearly, but if he kept saying things like that to girls there would be little hope of her becoming a grandmother someday.

Winry took a menacing step forward, her blue eyes glittering dangerously for a seven year old. "What did you say?"

"Err… Tell you what," Trisha interrupted, "You can keep playing with the trash cans as long as you transmute them back once you're done."

"Thanks mom!" Al made a whooping noise and pointed his wooden sword at Den. "Prepare to meet your doom dragon." The dog opened one eye, snuffled and closed her eyes again.

Some lessons needed to be learned without the help of a mother and she had a very good feeling Ed needed to learn this one, and fast.

She took a few steps away from the growing argument between Winry and Ed and went to the front yard to bring the garbage inside for the afternoon. After a moment's thought, she also opened the kitchen window that overlooked the back yard to see how the conversation went. If the young girl was anything like her mother, Ed would need the protection of the armor before their discussion was over.

~FIN~


End file.
